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Friday, May 27, 2011

Grey and white striped wall

Yay! It's done and it was fun, well not really fun, but satisfying. And we love it!

The Process:

YAWN. Yep, one stripe in and I'm bored bored bored. Painting the scuffed up risers seems like a good diversion.

OK. A little later and some progress. I started taping on rainy day. Mundane. And I can only do it for small amounts of time, as long as baby is in the mood to play. She wants to help and draw on the walls. I thought I could use gravity as a leveling device for the stripes; such as tape the top, let tape hang down and flatten against the wall. But this is a 100 year old home and by the bottom I had gained half an inch width. Out comes the level, pencil and rewards card (to flatten edge). And a hole lotta determination.

A little more motivated and excited, I am doing everything possible stopping myself from painting the few stripes I have. I reallllllly want to test it and see what it will look like. Instant gratification. No No No. Stay focused. More taping.

The stripes are to be 3.5" wide. Don't be fooled by the narrow stripe in between the larger ones. That will remain white. Painters tape comes as wide as 3" (and less) but that is not wide enough for me, hence the double rows.

Last few taped stripes added last night (Tues 5/24/11). When I walked by the next morning a satisfaction smile crept across my face. I still have to tape above the window and door. As I headed upstairs I wondered how I would fit my too long level in the small area above the window. At the top of the steps, BOING, an idea. Cardboard template. I can rest well tonight.

Next morning, I measured and cut a 3.5" piece of cardboard which will be used to space the taping above the window and door frames. And while I am at it, a group photo of my tools. The Tops Bonus Card was an essential part of the process; I used it to flatten the edge of the tape against the wall in order to avoid leakage under the tape. I did lose several weeks worth of deals at the grocery store as each time I was cashing out I could never find my card... it was worth it (I hope, haven't tested it yet).

Wednesday night (5/26/11) I started painting. Yay for my cutting in. I usually suck at that which is why I hired out for the rooms upstairs. The moon and planets must well balanced tonight for this Libra because I was a pro. I didn't even tape the ceiling edge!

Thursday night (5/26/11) I need the ladder to finish above the window. Don't be lazy go get it. Finish the job.

Before:

Midway:

After:

And a few more angles so I can peak at it while I am at work:

as of May 27, 2011

Saturday (5/28/11) Determined not to leave the wall almost completed...well I finished it. Notice below, above the doorframe, one narrow white stripe? Yep, didnt notice until I peeled off the tape that I had only placed on piece of tape there. My keystone stripe, I suppose.

Epilogue: The inspiration first landed in my mind when I saw the movie Hereafter. I did a little paint research, found some white (Benjamin Moore, Chantilly White) and started painting in Dec '10. Bad idea to paint before Christmas. Got the white on, but put the ladder away to make room for very fat, wide, HUGE Christmas tree. A few months of idleness and lack of energy. And then an energy booster and inspiration after seeing Danielle's painting. Made a paint decision, Eddie Bauer's Vintage Gray, mixed as Valspar and bought a gallon mid-May. Started taping a week later, (lots of rain and forced inside). Taping may have taken a few hours but with baby, work, soccer & baseball games and life stuff, the work spanned 2 weeks.

Pressing the tape down with the rewards card did help, but there was still some bleeding, mostly due to old wall and tiny pockets in the white paint. I read somewhere that applying a coat of white paint (or the colour that is under the tape) on the stripes before the grey paint (2nd colour) may have helped with bleeding, but I didn't have the patience for that. I tore off some of the tape after 2 coats and 2 hours. I tore off the rest of the tape after a night of drying. There was an insignificant difference between waiting (letting the paint dry a bit more).

Yeah, I still have above the door...
I will do above the door this weekend, but I was too impatient to not post what I consider completed enough :).

I also wonder if I should stripe the small corner under the other little window, creating a "foyer" area. I'm just not sure how to merge it with the rest of the wall on the other side of the door. hmmmmm

A day or two later, I realize how scattered my thoughts have been and how I have been jumping from one thing to the next and back. I was so caught up in my thoughts, personal things that have been going on, that I missed my yoga class yesterday. I see now the measuring and painting was a diversion from myself and gave me some focus. A good thing to have while I work through my feelings on family and friends.